"There’s two meanings to the word 'depreciation' in city government," Matthes told the DCLC. "One is defined by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). And one is defined by our Charter. They’re not the same. And so I want to first stress that. They’re not the same thing."
City Hall "accounts for depreciation," Matthes continued, but does not have the required Depreciation Fund. "When I used the term 'depreciation' earlier, I was talking about more of the GASB approach to it. We do do that. We account for depreciation."
But DCLC members, led by local architect Nick Peckham, persisted. "In fact, Columbia’s City Charter requires the creation of 'an adequate depreciation fund for the purpose of making renewal and replacements,'" they said.
"The laws are too old to be obeyed," was the upshot of Columbia finance director John Blattel's testimony. "Chapter 27-44...was passed at least 50 years ago," Blattel told the DCLC. "To our knowledge, there has not been a 'Depreciation Fund' for at least 30 years. Sections 27-42 and 27-43 are also outdated."
On David Lile's daily radio show last week, McDavid declined to comment about the missing Depreciation Fund. "I need to read and understand the report," he said, responding to a question from this writer.
DCLC members include Realtor Brent Gardner; Boone County Commissioner Karen Miller; Columbia Historic Preservation Commissioner Brian Treece; administrators from Columbia College, Stephens College, and Mizzou; Deb Sheals from the Downtown Community Improvement District; Sara Loe from CoMo's Planning & Zoning Commission; Columbia Housing Authority director Phil Steinhaus; and Tim Teddy, the city's planning and development director.
NEXT: Depreciation confusion